The 13,000-year-old Clovis point was discovered in Arizona thanks to a new "tribal monitor" program designed to help identify and record sacred places.

The tribal monitor, from the White Mountain Apache Tribe, was working with archaeologists from Tucson-based WestLand Resources Inc. when the spear tip was found. The point was collected for analysis and will be curated at a facility in Arizona.

The new program aims to help identify and record sacred places and minimize the impact of development. Program participants are focusing their work near a planned copper mine in Pinal County.

WestLand Project Manager and Senior Archaeologist Avi Buckles told The Arizona Republic, "This is the first time in the Southwest that tribal monitors have been used on a large scale and in a collaborative way."

Resolution Copper's request

Resolution Copper is a joint venture between BHP Copper Inc. and Rio Tinto that is developing a massive copper mine near Superior.

The company's planned operations are on land administered by Tonto National Forest. The Forest Service must complete an environmental impact statement before a final plan for the mine can be approved. Most areas covered in the survey are near Superior and nearby communities such as Florence.

"Our goal is to understand all the cultural elements of the landscape," Resolution Copper spokesman Jonathan Ward said. "We consider it a necessity to know if we can avoid or minimize impacts on cultural sites, so we learn as much as we can about them.

"We respect the sovereign nature of Native American communities and the desire for formal government-to-government consultation and we recognize that tribes have cultural interests outside their reservations."

Why tribal monitors matter

The Forest Service decided to create the tribal monitor training program to help with Resolution Copper's request. Holly Houghton, Mescalero Apache Tribe historic preservation officer, hatched the idea for the program.

Tribal monitor LeRoy Shingoitewa believes the U.S, Forest Service program can lead to more jobs.(Photo: U.S. Forest Service)

Nanebah Nez Lyndon, Tonto National Forest tribal relations program manager, said that for years, tribes have asked to help land management agencies find resources that could be identified only with certain knowledge.

"Many of the most sacred landscapes to American Indians are not marked by signs of occupation (i.e., archaeological sites)," Lyndon said. "These resources, while profoundly important to Indian tribes, are often absent in environmental analysis, unless tribes engage in consultation with the government agency."

Sacred locations and resources can include names of places, stories of landscapes and location origins.

Hopi member LeRoy Shingoitewa believes the program can benefit each tribe and get more members working in the field.

"Our work is important because in the past the tribes were not involved," Shingoitewa said.

A 10-day training program

“The model developed here on Tonto National Forest works so well because it teams two natural partners — the Forest Service and federally recognized tribes.”

Daniel Cain, Mark Twain National Forest heritage program manager

Daniel Cain, Mark Twain National Forest heritage program manager, was asked to help with the tribal monitor program.

"I've done a lot of work with tribal crews in the Southeast," Cain said. "It benefits the forests and our tribal partners and it's efficient."

During the training, participants learned from one another's cultures and experiences. Shingoitewa, for example, learned about laws surrounding cultural significance and governmental relations.

"My favorite memory was watching the tribes work together," he said.

The agency hopes to continue the program.

"The model developed here on Tonto National Forest works so well because it teams two natural partners — the Forest Service and federally recognized tribes," Cain said.

WestLand, which hired 11 of the participants, focuses on cultural resources and environmental consulting. The tribal monitors are working with WestLand's archaeology field crew on the cultural resources inventory in the Sonoran Desert.

Information tribal monitors collect will be added to the Resolution Copper Project Environmental Analysis. Resolution Copper sees the program leading to the creation of more jobs, education opportunities, land stewardship and more.

"It is very important for tribal monitors to be a part of this Resolution Copper project, " Buckles, the project manager, said, "because they are the original stewards of this land."

Tribal monitors for WestLand Resources take notes and use a GPS unit in the field.(Photo: WestLand Resources)